Food, furry buddies, fashion and freedom. So, put on your bow-tie, walk your furry pal to the local ice cream stand, and enjoy a banana split and enjoy the day because you can.This week has  something for everyone.

August 25

National Banana Split Day

Of course this family favorite has a day! Who can resist the combination of bananas, ice cream, whipped cream and a delectable cherry on top?

Did you know that the first banana split was created in 1904 by David Evans Stricklerm, an apprentice pharmacist from Pennsylvania. In addition to working with medicine, Stricklerm enjoyed creating sundaes and selling them in stores. In 2004, the city of Latrobe celebrated the banana split and was certified by the National Ice Cream Retailers Association as its birthplace.

Read more about it here.

 

August 26

National Dog Day

How much is that doggie in the window? Who doesn’t know that song?

National Dog Day was established in 2004 by animal advocate Coleen Paige to raise awareness about the number of dogs that are currently in rescue centers and to encourage the adoption of these dogs.

Sadly, each year, millions of dogs become homeless because they are unwanted or their owners are unable to care for them. National Dog Day aims to encourage people to adopt dogs from shelters and rescue organisations.

#DoginWindow

With this in mind, to celebrate National Dog Day, Safestyle are launching a nationwide #DoginWindow photo competition to tie in with this special day. Find out more here.

Although many believe National Dog Day should be every day ending in “y,” Paige selected a day that was significant to her, as it was the day her family adopted her first dog, Sheltie, when Paige was 10-years-old.

“Millions of dogs are killed each year because they’re simply unwanted,” says Paige,  “They’re unwanted because no one realized how to properly care for the demands of the breed. They’re unwanted because they were bought as a Christmas gift for a child that didn’t keep their promises about caring for the dog…unwanted because they shed too much…unwanted because they bark too much. UNWANTED…simply because someone changed their mind. All a dog wants to do is love you and be loved by you. Dogs are amazing, courageous, sensitive and sentient beings that deserve compassion and respect. Please consider bringing what was once considered “unwanted love”, into your heart and home on National Dog Day!”

See Nikko, who has been a resident of the Blue Ridge animal shelter for two years here.

Can’t have a dog, or another dog, consider donating to $5 to your local shelter. Learn more at their website.

 

August 27

 

National Petroleum Day

You may know someone who works in the oil and gas industries, out on a platform. This is National Petroleum Day. Fossil fuels are refined into petroleum products and biofuels, like ethanol and biodiesel are also petroleum products, mixing with gasoline and diesel fuels.

Edwin L. Drake struck oil on August 27, 1858 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, becoming the first discovery of the oil and setting off the opportunity for the area to become prosperous.

International Bat Night

 

Literature and history have dealt out a lot of misinformation about bats. These often small creatures play a critical role in protecting the balance of the eco-system.

They are the only mammal capable of flying and use echolocation to get around. They are nocturnal with very limited eyesight, so they send out beeps and listen to the echoes to determine where they are.

Bats are quite misunderstood. They do not carry rabies or diseases. Only 10 people in the last 50 years have contracted rabies from bats. They also don’t suck up blood. Worldwide, there 1,100 species of bats, of which three, just three, drink blood, and they lap it up. Of those three, none live in the USA.

So if they don’t drink blood, what do they eat? Insects. Lots and lots of insects. Each bat can eat up to 1,000 insects in an hour. Every hour they are out. Other bats eat fruit, and help plants pollinate and procreate.

To celebrate, consider learning more about these guys and possibly building a bat house. Or visiting a bat sanctuary, or taking a night hike. Or, watch Batman movies. Or Dracula. Learn more at Bat World.

August 28

National Bow-Tie day

Ah, the bow-tie. Whether it brings to mind Dr. Ducky Mallard of NCIS, Dr. Who, or the title character in Young Sheldon, something about the little bow tie brings quirk and fun to the person wearing it. Sometimes it’s not quirk, but a dapper man like James Bond.

The bow-tie is not a French creation as most believe, but came from Croatia and was used by soldiers to keep their collars together. From there, Pierre Lorillard wore a bow-tie to the Tuxedo Club, bringing the classic tuxedo into fashion.

And since classics never go out of style, grab you a bow-tie and wear it!

 

August 29

Individual Rights Day

August 29 is the birthday of John Locke, whose philosophical writings for each person.

“Anything that a man has as a matter of human rights or civil rights is to remain inviolably his,” said Locke, who strongly believed that life, liberty, property, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom to petition government.

Dr. Tom Stevens, the founder of the Objectivist Party, started the Individual Rights Day and believed in Locke’s principle that the individual was society’s smallest minority.

Read about John Locke or Ayn Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged and other popular books that promote the individual over society.

Days of the year contributed alot to this writing. Visit them here.